- The airplane "black box" discovered earlier this year at UN Headquarters in New York – stored in a locked file cabinet for the last 10 years – "is not linked to the crash in 1994" that killed the Presidents of Rwanda and Burundi and set off the Rwandan genocide, a UN probe has concluded. The French judiciary has accused the UN of covering up evidence from the fatal plane crash.
According to a statement issued yesterday by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), the cockpit voice recorder that was shipped to the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations in New York by the UN Assistance Mission in Rwanda (UNAMIR) did "not contain any relevant information" about the crash of that aircraft, which triggered a 100-day killing spree of 800,000 Tutsis and "moderate" Hutus.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in March had directed OIOS to investigate the matter in response to allegations by the French daily 'Le Monde' that the UN had possession of the black box from the Falcon 50 aircraft that was carrying President Juvénal Habyarimana of Rwanda and his Burundian counterpart, Cyprien Ntaryamira, and which crashed near Kigali International Airport on 6 April 1994.
The allegations in 'Le Monde' followed a still unpublished report by the French judiciary, concluding that current Rwanda President Paul Kagame - who at the time headed the Uganda-based Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) rebel movement - had indeed ordered the assassination of the two Presidents onboard he aircraft.
According to the French allegations, Mr Kagame had ordered a rocket attack on the plane that had killed all those onboard. Proof for this was to be found on the aircraft's black box, which had been hidden by the UN on the direct order of Mr Annan, with an aim to prevent investigations. Mr Annan has earlier rejected these claims and President Kagame on several occasions has ridiculed the repetitive French accusations.
The UN agency OIOS now goes far in rejecting the French allegations and lamenting its previous information policy. The UN department said the recorder had been received in good condition, and that its decision at that time not to analyse the box's origins and contents was made without its existence being reported up the chain of command among peacekeeping officials.
Noting that "much of the recent media attention to the issue could have been avoided" had the UN department acted in 1994, OIOS recommended a review of the information flow through the peacekeeping chain of command and strengthened procedures to minimise the risk of important matters not being reported to senior managers, particularly during times of crises and emergency.
In France, meanwhile, there is still uncertainty attached to whether the judiciary will go forward with its "investigations" into the 1994 Kigali incident. The prominent French anti-terrorism judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere, who has led the "investigations", may be indicting President Kagame to a French court and issue an international arrest order against the Rwandan leader.
Such a development may however cause international protests and a revival of the many stories linking Paris to the genocidal Kigali government in 1994. After Mr Kagame's RPF rebels stopped the Rwandan government's execution of the genocide by taking control in the country, ties between Paris and Kigali have been mostly hostile.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
front page
| news
| countries
| archive
| currencies
| news alerts login
| about afrol News
| contact
| advertise
| español